Introduction

10.1163/9789004274464_002

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Chapter Summary

This is the introductory chapter of the book Religion, Religiosity, and Democratic Values. The book argues for the strong connection between political democracy and the non-political democratic values of free market economics as well as civil society. It makes clear the importance of free market economics for the development of democracy from a philosophical, cultural, social, political, and empirical perspective. The free market can generally be seen as a symbol of individual free choice in the economic sphere. The book reviews the literature concerning the relationship between Islam and democratic economic values. It reviews the literature concerning the compatibility of Islam with civil society. The book shows that disagreement between scholars on this topic is greater than on Islam and free market economics. It clarifies the role of various influencing factors on political development from the perspective of the modernization theory.